Shores of Hope
by xjumpthenfall
Summary: Bella just moved from Forks to New York to attend a private school so she can graduate. Never had any friends, until Alice came along. Will she be able to shake this feelings that she isn't familiar with or will she be changed forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Day 70**

The birds chirping happily in the large tree's surrounding me, I found actually peaceful. The location was an anicent park that nobody visits anymore, which I also found peaceful. Alone. I've always been used to be _alone_. Until the day I met Alice.

**Day 1**

I saw teenagers around everywhere, even though I was a teenager I still felt as if I were at least thirty. Sighing, I stuffed my hands into my grey pocket's and walked along the halls of this brand new private school I have been attending for about...well today is my first day. I find it absoloutely ludicrous how I couldn't even graduate my senior year back at Forks because I didn't take the right amount of gym classes. I could have made that up over the summer but now I'm here in New York, stuck with a US History class, Advanced English class, and of course Gym. This should be a fun year.

Whispers passed through the mass of people around me. My father, Charlie, made us move here because of his job. I didn't really mind it. Back at Forks I didn't have so much friends, it was the same here. I was just a new person invading their space and I guess that wasn't OK for them. A tall figure bumped slightly into my left arm which made me wince. He, of course didn't apologize so I just kept on walking with my head straight.

The rooms wouldn't be too hard to find since this was a fairly small school. There was only one floor, the baby blue lockers were seen from the beginning to the end of the long hall. One cafeteria, or you could eat lunch outside which is what I would most likely be doing. You could definetely find a place for yourself outside instead of choosing to sit at a random table with people giving you looks because you're obviously not wanted there.

Finding my first class wasn't so bad, a few people already beat me there with their heads in their books. A few of their heads popped up to see who came into the class. All eyes were on me, and it was honestly making me feel uncomfortable. It was as if I was a new never before seen exotic animal.

My eyes met the teacher's, from what I could tell she looked bored out of her mind. "Take a seat anywhere you would like." She said in a firm voice and I nodded once, my eyes watching my feet as they made their way to the closest seat I could find. This day was going to be a long one, and the bell didn't even ring yet. I chewed on the inside of my lip so I could be distracted by something. There was absolute silence in the room and that just made things even worse.

The bell finally rang and a few seconds after that, the majority of the classroom walked in. The teacher gave them each pointed looks, making sure they got their first warning. "Alright, class. I know this is a new semester and you all are still on summer break in your minds. That stops now, this semester we will be going over..."

I try my best to pay attention to what the teacher is exactly saying. I have gotten straight A's throughout my academic life, I guess you could say I have expectations to fill. My father would always brag at work events or holidays at how smart I am. All eyes would go on me again, bright smiles. I would do my best to smile back but I wasn't really much for attention. I like to observe people instead of them observing me.

For example, the teacher right now in her mid-thirties seems like she is in much distress. Her sandy brown hair was in a ponytail, a few strands drifting off towards her cheek bones. Her eyes scanned over the room, making sure every student somewhat understood of what was going to be learned during the long nine months of school. Technically I only need to take one more semester, but of course that couldn't work out with the school so I'm stuck here for the whole nine months. Alone.

After I was out of US History, my English class went _very _slow. The teacher made the whole class period a lecture about how we're going to work on so much grammar because grammar is important, grammar is necessary, grammar this, grammar that. I felt like I was in a freshman class.

Once that awful part of my day was over, it was lunch time. For me, anyway. The last class I have is gym but right now that is my last concern. My hope was to get out of this building for thirty-five minutes. Time for just myself. A red apple in hand, I walked outside and took in a deep breath of the wind that blew some of my long, brown hair off in all directions. The sun was out, and you could hear leaves moving around from the wind. It was my kind of day. A few kids were sitting on benches, mostly couples holding hands and laughing for no reason what-so-ever. Part of me would like to know why couples did that. Maybe it's some weird emotion and that can't help but laugh, I am not so sure. Never had a relationship at all.

There was a field near by and a huge oak tree off to the distance, the huge branches hung out in every direction. It looked absoloutely perfect to me. The walk there was about five minutes, but once I was closer the beauty of it intensified times ten. In all honesty, I never seen a tree like this before. With a small smile on my face, I sat down against the bark and looked at my apple. The wind blew once again and I just layed my head back against the tree, my eyes closed for a moment. It was actually a nice time for me to relax, until I heard something move on the other side of the tree.

I peaked one of my eyes slightly open to turn my head towards the direction I heard the sound coming from. A second later, I opened both of my eyes wide open to see it was another person on the other side of the tree. Her questioning expression on her face made it almost impossible to look away. She had a small figure, her straight jet-black hair was about right below her jawline. Her skin was a nice tone of pale, and her nose was cute and eyes...the most unbelieveable shade of golden brown. Almost like honey, but a bit brighter. I could have looked at her longer, but then realized we have been staring at each other for long enough.

I broke the staring contest and turned back to look straight forward. _Please don't come over here and ask why I was staring at you, please please please. _I said over and over again in my mind, taking deep breaths and expecting the girl to walk over here and start questioning me.

Sure enough, not even two minutes later I see her short figure walk in front of me with a friendly closed smile on her lips. Her golden eyes peered down at me, and I tried my best not to avert my sight from her even though I most likely knew what was coming next.

"Hi," her voice sounded light and cheerful, almost like a bird singing. "are you new here? I've never seen you around before."

I blinked once, letting out a long breath that I was holding inside my lungs. Relief rushed over me and the girl was waiting for a response, her patient eyes glued to me. I opened my mouth to respond but no words came to mind. _Come on, Bella. It isn't that hard to talk. _I muttered to myself in my mind and chewed on my inner lip momentarily.

"Yes." I managed to say softly and her smile widened.

"Ah, I thought so. I'm Alice." _Alice _repeated in my mind and I nodded my head.

"I'm Bella."

"Nice to meet you, Bella." Her eye brows slightly furrowed. "Hm..Bella. Doesn't that mean beautiful in Italian?"

A small smile appeared on my lips and I nodded once again, feeling my heart pound excitedly within my chest. Though I don't know why, it was just a girl.

Alice nodded with me and giggled softly. "I knew it!" Her voice raised with victory which made me laugh awkwardly. I wasn't familiar with having somebody other than my dad to talk with. Alice made it seem like we were going to be talking more than once.

"Where are you from?" She sat down in front of me, legs crossed like Indian style and once I could see her up close, her beauty was unbearable. Especially her eyes, they looked so intense and bright.

"Um..I'm from a small town in Washington. Just moved here over the summer." I said with a slight shake in my voice and looked at the dirt on the ground. Distraction was what I needed. I've seen plenty of stars on magazine cover's and in movies, but they were no way half as pretty as the girl that was right in front of me.

"Huh..so that must be a change for you, hm? I heard it rains a lot there." I looked at her in the eye and nodded once.

"Like you wouldn't even imagine." I let out a soft sigh, looking at the couples that were on the benches which were now starting to walk into the school.

Alice seemed to notice me looking and turned her head to look as well. "Shoot. I have class in a few minutes." she turned her head back and bit her lip, standing up and looking back at the school once again.

"I do, too. Gym." I mumbled and got up too, noticing I was about an inch or two taller than her.

"Well..." Alice lingered by the tree for several moments before taking a few steps back. "It was nice to meet you, Bella. I hope to see you around." She said with a sincere voice, like she actually meant it.

My lips curved up into a small smile and I played around with my fingers. "Nice to meet you, too."

She smiled at me once more and took a few more steps back until turning her feet so I could see the back of her. "See ya!" She waved one hand up. I waved back, even though she couldn't see me and she turned around quickly.

"Wait! What are you doing after school?" She shouted because we were already to far away and the wind was terribly loud.

I looked down at the ground quickly, thinking of what I was doing after school. "I have to go home and cook dinner for my dad.." I shouted back, Alice's smile fell quickly but then she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh well, maybe I'll ask you next time!" She said with a smirk on her face and winked at me, turning her direction once again and making her way back to the school.

Sighing softly, I got my bag and took a bite of my apple. Wonders flew through my mind as to what the hell just happened.

**Thank you for reading this if you did. Reviews are immensely appreciated. Feed back/Tips on what to do next. You can say whatever you want in a review or PM. =] **


	2. Chapter 2

**Time: 7 PM**

**Location: Bella's kitchen**

After meeting Alice, the day seemed to dred on slower than I needed it to be. It was _gym _class, come on. I thought people were supposed to be all into gym and being active, blah blah blah.

Oh wait, I'm not like other people so of course it wouldn't turn out like that..

Our class played soccer which is my least favorite sport. Too much running around over one stupid ball. I tried my best to participate, whenever I kicked it I would kick it to the opposite team. Score?

_"Bella...?_" "Bella!" My brown eyes widened as I turned my head to see my father awkwardly scratching his chin while looking at me in confusion. "You didn't answer my question," he said with a calmer voice, taking a bite of his potatoes. "how was your first day?"

I pursed my lips, leaning back on the chair thinking through of my whole day. "Well.." I said to fill the silence that was in the kitchen. "Not too bad, I guess. The classes are easy. I had an apple for lunch." I said, making a small face when I saw my father was unhappy with me only eating fruit for lunch. "I'm a picky eater dad, you know that. The food there looked disgusting, goo-like." He said a quick _Ah _with a nod before letting me continue. "Overall it was an okay first day." I finished off, shrugging my shoulders.

"Did you meet anybody?"

"Uh.." Alice immediately popped into my head, her friendly smile and welcoming eyes made me feel a bit warm and happy inside. "Just a girl, we only talked for a few minutes." I said slowly, repeatedly stabbing my potatoes gently with the fork I was clinging to. My dad didn't say anything for a moment, probably because he was so shocked I actually _talked _to someone. My eyes met his and he had a bright smile on his face, hell, even his mustache looked happy. Sighing a bit, I bit my lip and looked back down on my plate.

"Just a girl, huh." He repeated before he tilted his head down, making sure we made eye contact. "What's her name, kiddo?" I smiled a bit and tilted my head up. "Her name is Alice."

"Last name!" He didn't even ask, it was more of a command. I laughed a bit and gently rose a brow at my dad's excitement.

"I don't know, she only said her first name." I shrugged my shoulders and ran my fork over my potatoe's once again. The rest of dinner consisted of my dad smiling at me from across the table, the silly grin never left his lips. Every once in awhile I would lift my eyes to see what he was doing. _Smiling. _Even if he was chewing his food. Being very quiet, I got out of my chair and grabbed my plate, scrapping the remains of my food into the trash and placing my dishes into the sink. I swiftly turned my feet and walked over to my dad who was still sitting down.

"Night, dad." I said quickly, placing a kiss onto his left cheek and walked up the stairs off into my bedroom, the second door on the left. I looked over at my digital clock which said 9:00 PM with huge, red, and bold font. It seemed so much later than it actually was, which is unusual for me because I was always struggling to finish so much...well, back at Forks I did. Putting my hands on my hips, I tried to figure out what I could do. I wasn't anywhere near tired, felt pretty energized. "Hm.." I sighed and pursed my lips.

I looked around my room with four white walls surrounding me, some boxes were still unpacked but that was only because there was no room to bring anything else out. I shoved some boxes into my small closet and plopped down onto my bed, opening up my window and breathing in the fresh air. It was super quiet at Forks, you can even hear a pin drop. Now that I was in New York, every hour I would hear cars honking, or even an ambulance speeding down the busy streets. This will be a hard environment to adapt to, but I know I'll try my best.

From a far distance, I see the huge buildings of NYC, the lights bright and lively just like I've seen in movies. Something about the sight just strikes me heavily. So many things could happen in that city in just one day, the possibilities are endless. It makes me want to stay there for all day, all night just walking around. I saw a few different colors of lights. Blue, gold, red. It was almost like the place was a huge Christmas tree and the presents were _waiting _for me.

I closed my eyes for a second and shook my head slowly. I was overthinking way too much. After shutting my window, I layed back onto my pillow and stared at my dull, white ceiling. Part of me wishes it was tomorrow, it would be Saturday and I could explore this new town. Part of me wishes it was Monday, so I could maybe see Alice again. Part of me didn't even know why I wanted to see Alice again, all of me is scared shitless for what the next few weeks might bring.

\x/x\x/

Everything felt hazy and slow motion as I opened my heavy eyes. Light shined through my room, the sun bright and orange as it greeted my window. The clock said it's exactly 8 AM, which means it's a new day. A day I can actually do something I would like to do. I got out of bed, stumbling forward a bit from the lack of walking and stopped myself for a moment to actually breathe. Waking up is most definetely one of the challenging parts of my day. I took a deep, large breath and let it sit in my lungs for a moment before exhaling out of my mouth and felt a bit better. My dad was already at work, there was a note on the fridge for his number if there were any emergencies.

Ideas were swirling in my head as to what I could do today as my eyes scanned the empty kitchen. First thing that came to mind was going to the city, but since I didn't have a car there was no way I could _walk_ there. I could call a taxi, but then again I am quite broke unless I search around the house for spare change. Yes, it seems I am that desperate to get out of the house today.

Or there was also the possibility of exploring my new town today. Of course there were some cute antique stores that were not far away at all. Walking did seem like a good idea as well considering the weather was beautiful.

It was decided, walk around the town today and try my best to smile at some people today. It was my goal. I walked back up into my bedroom and looked in my drawers for something to wear. Apperance was unfortunately one of my biggest insecurities, so I over analyze everything a lot before I actually decide to buy a shirt or wear a pair of jeans. Wish it wasn't that difficult, though.

At last I found a nice pair of grey skinny jeans with a grey tank top with flowers spiraling from the left top to the middle of my shirt. I smiled a bit and changed into my clothes quickly, tossing the clothes I wore yesterday into a green basket that was near the entrance to my room. After that was done and over with I walked into the bathroom and noticed how much of a bed head I had. I scrunched up my nose, widening my eyes slightly and noticing how many knots were present in my long brown hair. I grabbed my brush, quickly brushing through my hair and clenching my teeth at the force of tugging the brush through my hair. I repeated that routine until my hair felt smooth and I could actually do something with it.

I opened a drawer and grabbed a black hair-tie, then carefully grabbed all my hair and tied it up in a messy bun. I slightly tilted my head to the side and grabbed my bangs, gently twisting them and kept one hand on my head while searching for two hair pins I could use. "Dang it." I muttered, one pin in my mouth while I was searching for another one. I opened one more drawer and found another one to use. "Ah ha!" I cheered with victory in my voice and put the two pins in my bangs.

I grabbed my house keys and stuffed them in my pocket, then slipped on my black flats. Also, I made sure I didn't forget to pack my ipod in my other pocket. I literally don't go anywhere without my iPod. _Anywhere. _And if for some reason I forgot it, I would be extremely bored. Music was always something I knew I could escape to, run to whatever mood I was in. I shut the door tightly behind me, jiggling the doorknob to make sure I locked it correctly.

Once I got outside, the sun was beaming brightly which instantly lifted my mood. I put the two iPod ear budds into my ear and hit play on the song that I was currently in love with. Some Great Heights by Iron and Wine. In my opinion, the greatest cover ever made. The original song was annoying with pop beats and a guy with a voice that just urked me. However, the Iron and Wine cover was so relaxing. I have no idea what does it, the guitar or voices.

I walked down the sidewalk, hands over chest and was just enjoying the feeling of sun on my skin, it wasn't too hot or too cold. Just the right temperature with a little breeze every once in awhile. My fingertips ran along the brick walls once I made it into the center of the town, some people were in a small coffee shop eating breakfast and sipping hot coffee from the green cups. I looked away once they noticed I was watching them. Awkward.

I walked down several blocks until I found a nice field off to the far left side. A bunch of tree's surrounded that area which made me even more curious to see what was beyond that. I started walking in the fresh green grass and continued listening to my favorite song. Before I even realized it, tree's were everywhere. They blocked the sky's view and all I saw when I looked up was green. A small laugh escaped my lips and I started skipping through the free, open land.

There was a swingset when I got to the end of the trail, looked well abandoned. I hopped onto the swing and pushed myself up and down, smiling when I felt the butterflies in my stomach after going so high then just dropping.

_"Bella?"_ I swore I heard someone call my name but I kept swinging, it felt so exhilerating and there was no way I was going to stop. _"Bella?_" the voice said again. I slowly opened my eyes and slowed my swinging.

"Oh!" I said with a shakey breath and ripped one of the ear buds from my ear when I saw Alice a few feet in front of me. She was wearing a white tank top with a black cardigan over it. Her blue jeans were ripped in some places and there was a bright smile on her face, her hair was straightened today which made it seem a bit longer.

I gently rose a brow and laughed a bit at the awkward encounter. "Hey." I said and took the other ear bud out of my ear and stuffed them into my pocket. "How are you? What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice slightly escilating with obvious excitement. My smile lessened a bit once I stopped swinging all together, my legs holding myself up while I was still sitting on the swing.

"I always come here," Alice said with a shrug in her shoulders and she got on the swing next to me. "This was the place I was going to invite you to yesterday." I let out a small 'oh' before her eyes met mine and she nodded with a small smile. "But noooo...you had to cook dinner for your dad." She said with a slight whine in her voice on purpose.

"I'm sorry." I whispered and looked down. Alice stuffed her hands in her pockets and started laughing.

"I'm only messing around, Bella. And at least you found this place now. How do you like it?" She asked, looking around the whole area then back at me.

"It's..." I took a deep breath and looked at the nature around me. "It's beautiful, really. Plus it's quiet, you could definetely do some thinking here." I opened my mouth to say something else, but my mind couldn't generate when I noticed Alice's scent. She smelled really sweet, almost like strawberries but there was also a certain odor I couldn't identify.

"The swings are awesome, too. So you can think _and _have fun. It's a win-win situation for anybody." She smirked and wiggled her eye-brows cutely. I laughed softly, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah.." I whispered, looking away from her when I felt my cheeks burning.

"So miss Bella, what plans do you have for the next few days?"

"Well.." I paused and decided if I should tell her or not. "Tomorrow is actually my birthday." Her golden eyes filled with excitement and she gasped.

"No way! Eighteen?" She shrieked and I nodded slowly, trying to contain a serious face but it was so hard considering her face was adorable with a certain emotion splashing her eyes and lips. "Huh..a legal adult. Nice."

"Yup.." I pursed my lips and sighed softly.

"Well what are you doing to celebrate?"

"Most likely nothing..I mean, my dad has work tomorrow so he'll be working. I'll just walk around town or something. I mean..eighteen isn't a big deal at all an-"

"No..no no no no." Alice said quickly, holding one finger close to my lips and my eyes dropped to that one pale finger. "That simply won't do." You can tell she was trying to think of _something_. Several moments of silence passed before she clapped her hands together once. "I got it!"

"Alright, lets hear it!" I tried my best to sound excited which made her giggle quietly. She got off the swing and stood in front of me. "We can hang out tonight, and tomorrow I can take you to the city..yeah?" She asked in a hopeful voice and then spoke again. "I know we don't know each other that well..but..I would like for you to have a nice day on your birthday. Especially eighteen." She whispered the last part and started kicking into the dirt gently.

I watched her with her head bowed down, just seeing her like that made me want to jump out of the swing and scream yes. To make her feel happy. Obviously I wasn't going to do that, for some reason I can't find a way to say no. I get off the swing and she lifted her head. "Sure.." I said, forcing a small smile and crossed my arms over my stomach.

Her mood lifted up even more and she did a little hop in the air. "Thank you, Bella!" She exclaimed with excitement and she gently placed a hand on my arm which made me shiver. It has been so long that someone has actually had enough care to do that. "It'll be fun." She stated with gleam in her eyes.

**Thank you so, so, so much for the people who reviewed my 1st chapter. I have read them all more than once actually and would love for you guys to keep on writing them. Criticism is appreciated and I am sorry for the lack of Alice/Bella this chapter. I just wanted to make sure I got Bella down the right way and described her very well. Next chapter will be full of them two, I promise.**


	3. Chapter 3

**BlueGreenOcean: Yes, nobody is a vampire in this fic. And Charlie was very smiley because Bella had actually made a friend.**

Alice and I walked back into the small town together, she asked me the same usual questions. _How was school? Who are your teachers? _And I responded in a quiet manner, stuffing my hands into my pockets and letting my sight glance over to her. I found myself doing that often and each time that would happen, our eyes would meet making my heart pound harder within my chest. I found it sort of funny and ridiculous how someone that I barely know had this type of effect on my very well-being. Once we got back into town, Alice asked for my address and I told her.

Her smile turned into more of a smirk when she said her next statement. "Don't worry, I'll know how to get there. I remember things. I can just get directions from mapquest." Her golden eyes seem to swirl with excitement and she crossed her arms over her chest. "What time do you want me there, birthday girl?"

I scratched my head, thinking of a time. "Is seven okay?" Alice quickly replied with a eager nod which made me giggle without opening my lips. "Okay then," I grabbed my iPod from my pocket and gave her a pointed look. "seven it is." I smiled gave her a small wave before turning the other direction and started walking home. I felt my heartrate decrease slowly once I felt myself becoming further from Alice, and my cheeks that were burning with blush were slowly washing away with the warmth of the sun and the quiet breeze that was present today.

I got to the corner of the sidewalk and turned to see Alice out of sight, a small sigh of disappointment left my lips.

\x/x\x/

By the time I got home, I realized one thing. I _had _to make the place more presentable. I ran up the stairs into my bedroom, quickly picking up the extra boxes in my room and sneaking them into Charlie's bedroom, stuffing them safe and sound into his closet. I would be sure to explain that to him later. I ran back into my room, letting my socks slide me across the hall. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed my dad's number.

"Bella?" I heard his urgent voice call out my name.

"Hey, dad." I said while making my bed, spreading out the sheets and blakents so that it would be perfectly smooth.

"Are you alright? You never call when I work!" I felt some shuffling from the other side of the line, as if he stood up and was ready to speed his way back to the house.

"Nooo, no. I'm fine, dad. I was just wondering if.."

"If?" He repeated, eager to know my question.

"Iffff..." I said once again which made him chuckle "I can have a friend home tonight, the girl I met at school the other day wanted to hang out for my birthday then take me to the city tomorrow."

A beat passed by and he spoke up. "Sure, Bella. I think that would be great since I won't be home for your birthday. That was very thoughtful of her."

I felt my lips curl into a small smile. "It was." I agreed, absentmindedly twirling a piece of my long brown hair. "Thank you!" I added to make him in a even better mood.

"You're welcome, Bella. I'll see you in a few days."

"I love you."

"Love you too, Bells. Have fun with your friend."

I ended the call, tossing my phone after I checked the time. It was only 9:30 AM, ten more hours until Alice was here. These were the times I wish I had a time machine so I could make it seven. I finished cleaning by wiping down the counters in the kitchen and sweeping throughout the whole house. I dusted the widescreen TV in the living room and the slightly smaller TV in my room that laid on top of a desk. I went to check my phone, time had to be going by faster. 10:00 AM.

Oh, great.

I laid on my bed, sighing at the heavy silence in my house. All I could do was wait now. I could go make some lunch for myself, but I was way too comfortable to get up. I turned into my favorite sleeping side of the bed and closed my all of a sudden tired eyes.

\x/x\x/

_**Ding dong**_

My eyes shot wide open when I heard the sound ring in my ears. "No..way." I muttered in a tired voice when I looked at the clock and saw it was exactly seven. I hopped out of bed and ran to the door, slightly sliding myself into the wall which made me curse quietly. I opened the door and saw Alice there with a red long-sleeved turtle neck on with tight dark blue jeans. Her hair had the same spikes like they had a few days ago when I first met her, and her smile was almost overwhelming for me.

"Hey, Bella." she said with her bell-like voice that woke me up instantly.

I moved to the side so she could walk in. "Hey." I said softly and shut the door once she was safe inside. I locked the door and she walked further inside the house along with her purple bag with a panda on it. She turned around, accepting the enviornment around her.

"Cute house." She commented and let one of her hands run through her silky hair. "What would you like to do, Bella?"

I cleared my throat and couldn't really concentrate on her question because I couldn't believe she was actually in front of me right now. I shouldn't be freaking out like this, it's not like I have Taylor Swift in my house or something. She was Alice, but, Alice was quite amazing.

"W-What do you mean? You're the guest." I pointed at her and laughed awkwardly.

"Ah, yes, Bella." She said with a smart tone. "but," she threw a point right back at me and squinted her eyes. "it is your birthday soon, in five hours-but still." Alice ended with a small smile and tilted her head to the side slightly, an adorable victory played in her golden-brown eyes.

"Well.." I gulped nervously and looked around my house. "We could watch a movie. There's only a dvd player in my room, though."

"Perfect. I love movies and I love..watching movies in a comfy bed!" She replied and quickly licked her lips. "Movie it is!"

I laughed softly, looking at the stairs then back at Alice. "I'll show you the way." I walked behind her as she pranced up the stairs so gracefully.

We ended up watching (500) Days of Summer which is my favorite movie of all time. Not only does it have a good, actual realistic storyline to it unlike hollywood movies, but it also has the lovely Zooey Deschanel in it. Her sister, Emily Deschanel acts in a show called Bones and I also watch that show whenever I have free time. Deschanel's are my addiction.

At all the funny parts, I heard Alice giggle quietly. Every so often when she was taken by suprise, she had no hesitation at laughing full-blown which made me laugh as well. She was at the corner of my bed which was up against the wall and I was next to her, both of us under the warm covers and my comforter. My legs slightly hung off the bed and our arms were barely touching. Sometimes I moved my shoulder, pretending to stretch a bit so our skin could touch a little bit more. Since I had that long nap earlier, I was wide awake. I would turn my head to see Alice blinking her eyes slowly to stay awake. She would then catch me looking at her, and laughed for no reason. But when she did, I instantly felt the need to hear it again. It looks like I had a new addiction coming along.

"This is my favorite part." I whispered to Alice as Tom and Summer were sitting on the bench catching up. Once I heard no response, I looked over to see Alice completely knocked out in the position she was sitting in for the majority of the movie. She looked so peaceful, her chest moved evenly up and down and her lips seemed to stick out a bit more. Her face was looked so soft. A small frown formed on my lips when I noticed Alice was still in the same outfit she was when she came earlier. Poor girl didn't even get to change into her pj's.

Trying to be quiet, I shifted in my bed so I layed right next to her, not too close but in arm's reach. I watched her carefully, memorizing the time of her breaths, the slight twitches she made in her sleep. I all found it too cute for existence. I shut the lamp off that was by me and turned off the movie and was surrounded by darkness, the slight shine of the moon that shined through my window, and Alice.

My mind was filled with wonders of what could happen tomorrow. What Alice and I could do, what we could hopefully become, what we would explore, if we would have fun, if we would remember the day forever.

"Goodnight." I whispered to Alice's silhouette and shut my eyes.

**I am sorry this is such a short chapter, I have finals Tuesday and I have been studying my little tush off for the tests that I really need to do well in. I just thought I would upload this just so you guys could have something to read, and let your mind ponder on how the next chapter will be like. **

**:) Thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was my very stiff neck, I tried to sleep in one spot because I didn't want to randomly invade Alice's space not even realizing it, awkward. Usually I end up falling asleep in one spot then waking up in a complete different spot. The second thing I noticed was that I felt heavier for some reason. My eyes opened and I stretched, still feeling heavy. I blinked a few times, then looked at my stomach realizing an arm was around me. Alice's arm. I smiled a tired smile and closed my eyes once again.

I licked my lips slowly and cleared my throat, trying to wake up more. I turned my head slowly and sighed contentely. It had been far too long since I actually had this type of contact with someone. Considering I never had any type of relationship with anybody other than my dad, I guess you can say I never had this close of a contact with someone.

I still felt tired, a few more hours of sleep could do me real good. Yet, I didn't want to fall back asleep. My eyes fluttered open seeing to see Alice right beside me, her arm wrapped lazily around my stomach, it all seemed too good to be true. Maybe I was dreaming?

I heard a ragid, small breath leave Alice's lips and for a second I thought she was going to wake up. I gulped nervously and felt her arm slightly twitch. "Mm.." I heard her hum softly, taking in a deep breath with her nose then out with her mouth. I should probably stop staring, this was a bit creepy.

And so I closed my eyes, trying to act like a casual _normal _sleeping person.

A few minutes passed by and I tried my best to breathe evenly, act like I was in a deep sleep. I felt some shuffling around in my bed and Alice's arm left my body. "Good morning, birthday girl." I heard Alice mumble sleepily while she stretched out her arms and sighed heavily. I opened my eyes and ran my hand through the mess of my long hair and saw Alice turn her head to send me a sweet smile.

At that very moment, I literally felt weak to my knee's even though I wasn't standing up. My stomach was rising with butterflies which made me feel unstable. Seeing Alice right there next to me, so close and seeing her natural beauty right in front of me was too good to be true. The paleness of her silk skin, the slight circles under her lovely shade of brown and honey for her eyes, the little parts of her hair sticking up in a random direction, the feeling I get whenever she smiles at me.

My heart desperately wants to explode right now.

\x/x\x/

Alice loves New York, as do I.

Right when we got there Alice seemed happier. Like a kid gets excited when they first get to Disney World. I felt like I was a new species to a new environment. I guess you could say that was somewhat true.

The city was indeed huge, I felt like I was inside a snowglobe minus the snow. When I looked up at the huge buildings before me, it felt scary and amazing at the same time.

We walked through the city with the wave of people rushing to work, talking on their cell phones, or trying to flag down a taxi. My poor lack of walking skills caused me to trip several times, of course Alice noticed each and every one of my trips and asked if I was alright. My brown eyes wandered everywhere, taking everything in. "Want to go in there?" Alice asked calmly, pointing at the Panera Bread across the street.

"Yeah, I love that place!" Back at Forks, they had a Panera Bread there and I fell in love with it. The cozy place was an escape from home and school. I would sit there, have a bowl of soup, and just read or sometimes people watch. I was always fascinated with people watching for some reason. I'd look for hairstyles, I would wonder what a certain tattoo meant to some people.

I really need a life.

"So, Bella, what do you think?" Alice's eyes flickered out to the window, looking at the city then back at me.

I chewed on my bottom lip and took a sip of my coffee, my eyes looked out the window as well and I smiled. "It's unbelievable. Incredible, actually. New York is..." my voice trailed off as I tried to think of the right word to describe the city.

"Crazy." Alice answered for me with a smile on her face. "I love it here."

"Alice!" I heard a male voice call her name.

I turned my head, desperately wanting to know who this person was. He had a tall and muscular figure. Not the "too much" muscle, but you can tell he could kick someone's ass if he wanted to. He had sandy blonde, semi-long hair and his crystal blue eyes were friendly-I think.

Alice giggled and got up from her seat, suddenly being lifted up in the air by the blonde. He smiled brightly against her neck and hugged her tightly. A pang of jealousy ran through me and I could feel my heartbeat a bit faster.

"Hey, Jasper." She sighed out once he finally put her down. She turned to me and gave me a small wink and a reassuring smile before speaking again.

"Jasper, this is Bella. She's new to our school."

He extended his hand and I hesitantely reached out to shake it.

"Nice to meet you, Bella." He shook my hand for a little too long for my liking before letting it go. "What are you guys doing here?"

Alice looked at Jasper and bit her bottom lip. "It's actually Bella's birthday today, and we're just having some quality..." she paused and looked down for a second.

"Girl time?" Jasper asked uneasily.

Alice's eyes lit up. "Yes!" she exclaimed and gently laid a hand on his arm to give him a squeeze. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" She looked up at him with her long, black eyelashes.

Jasper smirked at her and looked at her with a way that just urked me. "Alright. See you." He lingered still for a second before turning around and leaving.

Alice sat back down and let her smile cease little by litte. "That's Jasper." She murmured and rolled her eyes. "We hated awhile back and he still thinks we're meant to be, the perfect couple."

I swallowed a huge gulp of my coffee, which burnt my tongue, and tried my best listening to Alice's voice.

"Are you ready, Bella?" she asked softly. "It's starting to get dark."

I cleared my throat and finished off my hot drink. "Yes."

We both got out of our chairs and left.

\x/x\x/

When we got outside, the cool air took me by suprise and I shivered for a moment. Alice giggled at me and took my hand, slowly intertwining our fingers together.

My breathing hitched in my throat when I felt Alice's hand in mine. The whole side of my arm felt warm, and it felt like there was a trail of tingles traveling up and down my arm, back to my hand, then finally spreading out to my fingers.

I am 99.9% sure I am blushing right now. Alice gently squeezed my hand and spoke.

"Did you have fun today?" She asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

I could feel people staring at us from a distance and shook my head slowly. "Best birthday ever." I whispered and looked down at our hands. I could see from the corner of my eye Alice dropping her head as well and her lips lifted into a relieved smile.

"I'm glad."

We both got into the taxi and the ride home was quiet. Day was turning into night and the city lights were coming bright and alive. Alice didn't speak one word but we held hands loosely all the way back to my house. I didn't want to let her go.

When we got back to my house, Alice paid the taxi driver and pulled me out of the car with her. We both stumbled into each other, causing both of us to laugh. She rubbed her thumb over the skin of my hand and looked at me.

"See you tomorrow, Bellaaaa." Alice sang cutely and started to walk forward.

For some reason, I had the urge to pull her back and press my lips to her cheek for a thank you. I sighed and we let go of each other's hands. She got into her yellow car and honked a few times before driving away.

I walked into my house and instantly missed Alice even though I was just with her moments ago. My dad was in the kitchen drinking a soda and reading the paper with his reading glasses on. I pressed both of my hands to his shoulders which made him jump a little. He looked up at me and a smile washed over his face.

"Bells!" He said excitedly and got up from his seat. "Stay here!"

Charlie ran up the stais in a hurried manner and I couldn't help but laugh a little. A few minutes later, he was back with a medium sized gold-colored box. He had a sheepish grin on his face. "Happy Birthday, kiddo." He gave me the box and I eagerly, but carefully, opened it.

I pulled out a silver heart locket and stared at it in shock.

"Oh dad.." I breathed out in awe.

"Open it." I eyed him with a curious expression. I opened the locket and a picture of my dad and I was in it. The picture was from when I was home as a newborn for the first time. He was smiling down at me, holding me securely in a loving manner as I was peacefully sleeping.

"I love it." I whispered as I closed the locket and wore it around my neck, the heart ended up to be in the middle of my chest. I hugged my dad, wrapping my arms around his neck and inhaled his colonge. His arms wound around the middle of my back.

"Happy Birthday, Bells." He said and patted my back.

I kissed his cheek and pulled away.

"How was the city?"

"It was great."

"What did you and uh.."

"Alice."

"Yes, Alice. What did you both do?"

"Oh, just walked through the city and had some coffee at Panera Bread." I shrugged, trying not to act too excited about it.

"Fun. You look tired." He commented. More like miserable because I have to wait until tomorrow to see Alice.

"Yeah, I'm going to head up to my room now. Thanks so much for the present, Dad." I held onto my silver heart and walked up with stairs sluggishly.

Once I was in my room, I collapsed on my bed and slid my arm under my pillow. I sighed contentely and moved my hand a little, feeling a scratch against my skin.

Huh?

I lifted my pillow and saw a half sheet of paper with bold numbers in the corner, my age, eighteen. Little designs of hearts and sparks were scattered along the paper and in the middle it said _Love, Alice _ in the most beautiful cursive writing I have ever seen. She must have placed it under my pillow while I was getting ready earlier.

"Thank you, Alice." I whispered, pulling the blakents over my body and placing the paper where she slept last night.

**FIRST OFF, I want to apologize for just vanishing randomly. Summer is here and I am actually taking a summer class so my free time is limited. Hopefully this chapter will make up for the last one.**

**KEEP REVIEWING! I love them and don't hesitate to shoot me a PM, either. =]**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, beautiful people of fanfiction. Finally, right? So sorry I completely vanished for a few months. Summer was such a busy time for me. T-T Hopefully I still have some readers. I just re-read all my reviews and I love each and every one. Hope you enjoy this chapter and I promise you next update will not take long as this one did. **

The alarm clock blared at me obnoxiously, as if it was a mother yelling at their child to get up for the tenth time.

I groaned softly and turned to my side so I could slam down on the off button. Silence filled my room, outside I could hear the birds chirping to each other. I just wanted to sink into my bed and sleep for then more hours. Then the thought of Alice popped into my mind.

Well, now I _have _to get up.

\x/x\x/

By the time I got to school, I noticed the clouds were quite dark today. It reminded me of Forks. It would be great if it rained today, even just for a minute. I actually missed the rain. The sight of it, the taste of it; everything.

I walked into school and brushed past the people that were in my way. Everyone seemed to be tired and silent, like me, until I heard a soft giggle from not so far away. I knew that sound. Jasper was talking with Alice who was at her locker, grabbing a notebook and a class book. She stopped for a moment to look at him, and then laughed again. Her head nodded, as if she was agreeing to something.

Jasper chuckled and leaned against the locker next to hers. He continued talking and lifted his eyes to meet mine.

Oh. Wow, I'm not good at watching people like a normal person. Alice turned around, following his eyes. A bright smile appeared on her lips and she waved at me. I waved back with a shy smile and looked down at my things, pretending to make sure I had everything for class.

Alice closed her locker and started walking with Jasper, his arm wrapped around her waist as his hand closed on her left hip. No, no. I did not like this at all. And from the looks of it, neither did Alice. She sighed and grabbed his hand, pushing it away but doing it carefully.

"Jasper." She muttered and started walking away from him.

Jasper shrugged his shoulders, wondering what he did so wrong. He turned around at met my direction once again. "What are you looking at?' He half-shouted, raising his eye-brows at me. I just stared at him with a blank face, so tempted to speak up. Instead, I opened the door next to me and walked into class.

Classes went by extremely slow. Lecture after lecture, worksheet after worksheet. We had to work on a project in class with a partner, so I partnered up with the other shyest girl in class. Angela was a nice girl. She was the quiet one, wears glasses, and wears her hair in a ponytail everyday. Once we both started talking, I realized she and I were not so different afterall.

She lives with her dad, moved from a small town in Washington, never made any real friends till she came here.

"I have some really great friends," she said with a sincere voice while writing down information from the History book. "There's Eric, Jessica, Mike, and Alice." The last name made my heart leap and stomach jump with excitement.

"Alice?" I asked while she was writing down more things.

"Yes." She whispered and lifted her eyes. "You're the _new _Bella here, right?"

I rose a brow and smiled. "That would be correct, yes."

Angela smiled wide and dropped her look from me. Why did she smile so wide? Has Alice talked about me before? I shook the thought from my head and started writing down random facts from the book.

"She really likes you." Angela said calmly, I didn't even bother to look up because I knew she was still writing, too. "I've never seen her attatch to someone so quickly." She continued and sighed softly. "I hope you two become great friends." She mumbled while finishing her last fact in her notebook.

The bell rang and I rose from my seat, rushing past the flood of people who were moving the opposite direction. "Excuse me." I muttered and tried to slide past a group of valley girls, giggling idiotically at something stupid.

I pushed the door and let the humid air hit my skin.

Taking a deep breath, I started walking through the grass and smiled when I saw Alice sitting down by the tree. She looked up from her book, saw me, then sat up more. She was watching me walk her way. Awkward, wish I had a fast forward button so I could walk faster.

I finally made my way to Alice and plopped down next to her, sliding my bag to the side.

"Hey." I greeted her and she responded with the cutest smile ever.

"Hello."

I faced her way to actually see what she looked like today, beautiful is most definetely a major understatement. She was wearing a tanktop with vintage flowers all around her shirt. Her shorts were a tan color which made her smooth skin stand out. Her hair, short as it is, was suprisingly tied up in a small bun with her bangs up in a tiny poof.

"How are you, Bella?" She asked while finishing a sentence in her book before closing it and devoting all her attention to me.

"Well. . ." I began and she lifted her head a little, tucking a small piece of hair behind her ear. "This day is going by extremely slow." Alice eyes widened.

"Slow for you, too, hm?" She asked while crossing her arms over her stomach. "I just want to graduate already, I'm sick of people."

"You mean Jasper?" I blurted out, instantly regretting it. Alice looked down and played with her fingers.

"Yes, Jasper. He's so annoying. We hated each other, yet we dated, broke up, and now he wants to get back together. Things have _changed. _Extremely. He just can't get it through his thick head." Alice tore up some grass from the earth and threw it off to the side. I watched her intentely, taking everything in. I've never seen this side of Alice before, the upset part of her. She was always all smiles. And what changed so extremely?

"I'm sorry, Alice.." That was all I could manage to say. She dropped the last bit of grass in her hand. I wish there was something I could so, something more I could say.

Alice gently laid her hand on my ankle. "It's not your fault, Bella. Don't worry about me, okay?" She lifted her lips into a small grin before pulling her hand away. "Everything will fall into place sooner or later."

\x/x\x/

I must say that gym class sucks to the max right now.

We _were_ going to run laps outside until the downpour came. Now we are inside the gym, watching a stupid 1960's video about staying fit and exercising. The thing is, I already seen this video in 8th grade. I am almost positive that our gym teacher has shown this video more than once, and he STILL laughs at the extremely cheesy parts in this video.

Once the bell rang, I was the first one out. The people who had fewer classes than others were already rushing outside into the pouring rain. They were running to their cars and I would be doing the same, but I don't have a car.

As the halls were becoming less crowded by the minute, all I could do is stare at the rain.

"Bella?"

I turned around to see Alice standing a foot away from me.

"Hey."

"Hi.." She took a few steps forward. "Are you walking in that?" By that, she meant the rain.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Guess I'll have to."

Alice blinked her eyes a few times, crossing her arms over her chest and biting her lower lip. "Well, if you want you can stay with me for study hall then I can drive you home?"

"R-Really? That would be great." I stammered out. Usually, I wouldn't mind one bit walking home in the rain. This rain was way too much. Not to mention I saw lightning in the sky several times. The thunder just started, Alice and I both looked out the window.

She grabbed my arm smiling. "C'mon."

\x/x\x/

In the library, it was cozy and warm. Alice, Mike, Jessica, Angela, Eric, and I were sitting in this huge table. The other ten kids were scattered by different tables. Their teacher always leaves the room to do God know's what.

Alice and I were sitting across from each other. Every few minutes Alice would lean onto the table and drop her head lower into the book she was reading, it was cute to see her this interested in a story.

You could hear the heavy rain hit the ceiling and Alice finally broke the silence. "Be right back." She left the room and several minutes later the bell rang. Kids left the room quickly, everyone was saying their goodbye's and Angela was next to me stuffing her things into her backpack.

"Hey, Angela?" I asked hesitantely.

She adjusted her glasses and tilted her head. "Yes, Bella?"

I stayed silent for a long minute before mustering up all my courage to ask her this. "Was Alice ever happy with Jasper?"

Angela shook her head quickly. "That is a very touchy subject, Bella. You should really ask Alice if you want to know." She threw a small, apologetic smile my way before getting up from her seat and leaving the room.

Alice walked in after Angela walked out, her normally soft eyes had a bit of twing in them. "Let's go to our spot.

\x/x\x/

"No way, Alice. No. You are simply crazy."

"Come on!" She whined and, hopping up and down barefoot. "It's just mud! Not going to kill you." She teased, wiggling her toes in the brown mush.

"No." I answered again, shaking my head no as well to show her I was being serious.

"What, are you afraid?" She smirked, kicking mud in my direction. I felt it hit my knee.

"Alice!" I shrieked and slipped my flip flops off, running to her.

"Wait, wait, wait!" She giggled, bending down and putting two fingers in the mud. "If we are going to do this, we need to make it legit." She slid the mud under both of my eyes, her fingers slowly running over my skin. Alice moved herself closer to me, this is the closest I've ever been to her. I could feel her breath traveling to my skin which made me shudder. She smiled, locking our eyes together.

"Awesome." She whispered and looked down, slowly backing away from me.

After that, she slid mud under her eyes as well and nodded her head slowly. "Okay," she said while picking up more mud in her hands and flinging it at my stomach. I gasped and her response was a laugh.

The majority of our skin was hit with mud, we eventually fell into the ground and slid around everywhere. I haven't laughed this much in a long time, I actually felt my cheeks burn and my stomach in pain because of it.

"Uh, Alice?" I looked over to her muddy dark face. "How are we going to get into your car?"

Alice pursed her lips then clapped her hands. "I got it!" She popped her trunk and pulled out a thick, long wool blakent. She set it in her car so it covers both of our seats.

"Ta da!" She exclaimed and lifted her arms up in excitement.

I laughed a bit. "Really?"

She shook her head excitedly and got in the drivers seat. "It's Jasper's."

Laughter filled in her car as I sat down and closed the door.

\x/x\x/

Alice's house was huge, not to mention far out in the middle of no where. She unlocked the door to the front and ushered me in.

I followed Alice and looked to the left to see a guy in his mid-twenties. His hair was a messy bronze color, pale like Alice. He looked at us with wide eyes and Alice bit her lip.

"Er.." Alice saw the man and cleared her throat. "Bella, Edward, Edward, Bella. . .Do not ask." She gave him a pointed look and took my hand, leading me up the stairs.

Edward laughed at Alice's warning. "I saw nothing, intimidating little sister of mine!"

The sound of Alice's welcoming laugh filled my ears and I swore my cheeks that had mud splattered all over my cheeks were burning red.

Why does she make me feel this unstable?


End file.
